Lost and Found in Greece
by Peter Smith
Summary: My latest POV story, featuring Kimberly! Here's the final chapter – Kimberly reflects on the adventure in Greece, and tells Tommy how she's made her peace with her shifting future, and why she's comfortable with her decision to remain a Power Ranger. Before long, it's time to head home … thanks for reading! :)
1. Chapter 1

_Author's notes - Hey everyone! Sorry about the delay. I try to write one of these guys every two months (and it's helpful, 'cause I can usually keep them nice and short. That's not really an excuse, though. Zedd's POV story was twice as long as normal, and I still knocked that one out in two months), but I've been having a really tough year, and it was hard getting through this one. I'm pleased with the end result, but one particular plot-point took me a month to figure out. Still, this continues the run of sending the Rangers to lovely locations around the world. This story matches Teresa's and Jason's POV stories (three stories that use all twelve Rangers) which features four Rangers with preexisting close relationships. So here we have Kim and Tommy, with the best friends Ian and Brendan along for the ride (with Jason's story, it was the cousins Pete and Sarah, plus Jason and Billy. With Teresa's story, it was the twins Teresa and Scott, with Zac and Trini). I still have five POV stories to go, and I've got some good ideas for Zac and Scott, but give me a few more months, it's slow-going at the moment._

_Anyway, in my series, the Rangers are faced with similar decisions, but (because the actors here aren't deciding to leave) the Rangers stick around. This story takes place in the Christmas holidays after the Rangers have graduated high school (because in my series they're Australian), and a few months after Kimberly had the option of leaving to train with Coach Schmidt. As I said, she made a decision here, and this story has her coming to terms with that decision. I looked forward to telling Kim's story, so I hope everyone enjoys it. Feedback is always welcome :).__  
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* * *

**Chapter One**

Hey! My friends call me Kim. It's great to finally meet you.

I think we should get the really crazy stuff out of the way first. I'm a superhero, and I'm not gonna lie. It's totally awesome.

Most of the time. 'Cause sometimes, it's about making really hard decisions. And not always because of the bad guys.

When I was fifteen, my best friends and I were chosen by an ancient wizard named Zordon to become the Power Rangers. I know, right? With incredible weapons, cool outfits and giant robots, we got to kick butt and save the world every day. And you know what? We were pretty good at it. But this year, my biggest challenge wasn't from a giant monster eating downtown. I've always enjoyed gymnastics, and earlier in the year, a talented coach offered to train me so that I could reach the Pan Global games. According to him, I had a real shot. But of course, there was a catch. I'd have to move away and leave the Power Rangers behind me. It was a tough choice, and I crossed the Universe trying to figure out what to do. Literally.

And ultimately, I made the decision to stay.

I couldn't imagine what my life would be like _not_ being the Pink Ranger anymore. And the things I would've missed, if I'd left? Two months ago, the Rangers and I were on the other side of the galaxy, searching for a lost fleet of Megazords on an alien world and actually choosing a team of Rangers to pilot them. I got to pilot a Megazord all by myself for the first time ever, which was scary but kind of cool. And just this month, we had to fight off a full-scale alien invasion by little green men who certainly didn't come in peace. The only reason we won was because of help from none other than Rita and Zedd, newly back from their honeymoon (and don't think about that one too much. I made that mistake myself, once. I'm still scarred).

Luckily for the team, evil has always tended to take it easy over the Christmas holidays, so for the last week, it's been a long line of aunts, cousins and grandparents, all asking me, "How goes the gymnastics?" followed by an awkward smile and, "Oh, well, I'm sure you made the right decision." I know they meant well, but it had been getting pretty tough listening to this all week when it's not like I could tell anyone my reasons why. I was almost grateful tonight when my communicator beeped, and Zordon told me to pack for the weekend, choose three of my team-mates and call up the Phoenix Thunder zord for a mission on the other side of the world.

With the blue Aegean Sea thousands of feet below us, I glanced back to the three Rangers sitting in the cabin behind the cockpit of my zord. "Hey guys," I called. "Hold tight. We're just about there."

"This is so cool," said Ian the Grey Ranger. "I've never been to Greece before!"

Tommy climbed out of his seat. "C'mon," the White Ranger said, reaching for the backpacks at their feet. "Let's get organised."

Brendan the Aqua Ranger turned to me. "So you want our seats and tray tables in their upright and locked positions?"

I laughed. Those were my boys. Tommy and I have had our rough patches, but we share a deep bond and we get each other. I've always felt like I can just be myself around him. Ian has a great sense of adventure, and a really down-to-Earth attitude. We always work well together when things get scary. And as for Brendan? He's the zany little brother I never had, but I like his spirit. He's a lot of fun.

"Where are we heading anyway?" Brendan asked.

"The little town of Kakia Thalassa," I replied, turning back to the controls. "That's all Zordon told me. He said we should call him for the rest of the mission once we've checked into the hotel." As the Phoenix cruised lower through the twilight sky, I looked ahead. "Check it out boys," I said, and the three guys gathered around me. "We're here."

Directly ahead of us was Kakia Thalassa. Built onto the side of a craggy mountain, the town was made up of white stone buildings, perched over narrow streets and alleyways that zigzagged down the side of the hill until they reached the sea. The beach was a stretch of beautifully white sand, while the waves lapping against the shore were a striking crystal blue. The town sat before a sheltered bay, with a small wooded island further out to sea. As we watched, a fleet of fishing boats were making their way back to shore after a day out on the water.

Keeping the Phoenix high and out of sight, I set the zord down on the other side of the mountain in an empty valley. Zordon had said the terrain was rugged and unpopular amongst local hikers, so the zord should stay undiscovered. Once we'd stepped out of the zord and demorphed, I hit the cloaking gadget Alpha had given me before we'd left, and the zord shimmered and vanished before our eyes. After that, it was a short climb over the hill, made far more difficult by the backpacks we were all lugging, and we were soon making our way down through the shadowy streets. Looking ahead, I spotted a sign advertising a small hotel, and reached for the reservations that Alpha had printed out.

"This looks like the place," I said, and indicated the hotel.

The four of us soon stepped into the building. A noticeboard advertising local attractions stood by the door. Brendan and Ian stopped to grab some brochures, while Tommy and I made our way over to the front desk. The hotel clerk was a cheerful woman with curly dark hair, and she turned to us with a beaming smile as we approached.

"I'm Eleni," she said. "Welcome to Kakia Thalassa!"

"We're happy to be here," I said, and handed her the paperwork. "We have a reservation for a room upstairs."

"This all looks good," Eleni said, and stood up. "I'll just get your keys. Will you be staying until the new year?"

"We'd love to," I replied, "but we've gotta get moving by Monday."

"Ah, a shame," Eleni replied. "Still, happy New Year."

"Thank you," Tommy smiled.

Eleni stepped back to the desk. "To all the choices you made this year," she began, and handed me the keys, "and all the ones you'll make next year."

I froze, thinking back a few months. Tommy turned to me as my expression fell.

"Kim, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," I said, and looked back to the two younger Rangers. "C'mon boys, we've got our room."

The four of us headed upstairs and found our room. It was open and airy, with a small kitchenette behind a round dining table. There were three bedrooms and a wide terrace overlooking the street. We dropped our backpacks by the door, and I stepped out onto the terrace. A table and chairs were sitting under an old wooden trellis that was overgrown with leafy vines. It was a cool, clear evening, and I could see all the way down the hill to the beach and the island in the bay. Inside, Tommy took one bedroom while Ian and Brendan were happy to share the second, leaving me with the third.

Once we'd settled in, the four of us gathered out on the balcony and sat around the table under the trellis. Tommy checked that we were alone, and once he was sure nobody was eavesdropping, I raised my communicator and tapped the top button.

"Zordon," I began, "it's Kimberly. We're here in Greece."

"Excellent," crackled Zordon's voice. "How is the city?"

"It's really nice," Ian said. "I honestly thought it would be a lot colder."

"It's been an unseasonably warm winter in the Mediterranean this year," Zordon explained. "So the temperature should be quite pleasant, particularly coming from an Australian summer. This actually works in our favour, since you may need to spend some time in the water."

"The town's pretty quiet from the looks of it," Tommy said.

"That's also in our favour," Zordon replied. "The peak tourist period tends to fall in the middle of the year, and not over Christmas."

"Which means there'll be a lot less people around if things go south," Ian added.

"Exactly," Zordon agreed. "I apologise for taking the entire weekend away from you, Rangers. But I didn't want you teleporting back and forth between the Command Centre and Greece all weekend. That would've attracted a great deal of unwanted attention. Given what's at stake, this was the much better option, and I hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience."

Brendan gazed out over the city to the moon reflected in the Aegean Sea. "We'll forgive you this time, Zordon," he said. "But don't make a habit of it."

We all laughed, and Zordon chuckled. "Excellent to hear," he said. "Now, the mission. Thousands of years ago, a great city sat on an island facing you from across the bay. In one corner of the city stood a tower, the home of a dark wizard with terrible powers. The key to the wizard's power was his spell book, an ancient tome of powerful black magic. The wizard's crest was a shield with two duelling dragons. Like all of them, the wizard plotted to overthrow the ancient Greek nation states and conquer the known world."

"Sounds like a real charmer," I said. "Whatever happened to him?"

"And what happened to the island?" Ian asked. "The only island in the bay is way too small for a city."

"Fate intervened in the story," Zordon continued. "Two thousand years ago, the entire region was devastated by a massive earthquake. The island sank into the bay and the city was destroyed, including the wizard's citadel. The island you can see there today is all that's left. But several weeks ago, runoff from severe storms affected the tidal currents in the bay and exposed the ruins underwater. Local archaeologists began exploring the ruins, and found a stone crest carved with two duelling dragons."

"The wizard's castle," Tommy said.

"Indeed," Zordon replied. "After the city fell, the wizard was never seen again. But I'm far more concerned about the whereabouts of his spell book. Any number of forces on Earth would do anything to get their hands on that book, including Zedd and Rita. We must find it first."

"Are you sure the book's even still here?" asked Brendan.

"Yes," Zordon replied. "According to legend, the book was so powerful it had to be kept in a specially-constructed chest to dampen its power. The sensors here in the Command Centre are detecting the faintest energy signal from somewhere in that town, but that's the closest we can get you. The chest is obviously still protecting the book, so you'll have to look for it the old fashioned way, I'm afraid. And I suspect that Rita or Goldar will be there sooner rather than later."

Tommy swept his gaze out over the bay. "Talk about a needle in a haystack," he breathed. "It could be anywhere. It could still be underwater…"

"… or someone else could've already brought it ashore," added Brendan.

"Either way, we have to find it," Ian said. "And we will. I know we will."

"I'm with Ian," I said. "We can totally do this."

"If you need back-up, call Alpha and I, and we'll send the other Rangers," Zordon continued. "Alpha stocked the Phoenix zord with supplies before you left. You should have enough of the local currency to get you by. The rest is up to you. Good luck Rangers. We are here if you need us," and the communicator fell silent.

The four of us gazed around the table.

"Phew," said Brendan softly. "Where the heck do we even start?"

I stood up and stepped over to the balcony, resting my arms on the railing. The town below us was lit up in the evening shadows. There were couples on dates heading into trendy cafes, and families with children out enjoying the night. A cool breeze was drifting up off the water, while music from the town's restaurants and clubs filled the night air. Tommy, Ian and Brendan soon joined me.

"We should start looking tonight," Tommy said.

"I think it's too late to really do anything, particularly if we don't know our way around," I said. "How about we settle in, have some dinner, and we can figure out where to start tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds like a plan," Ian nodded. "Brendan and I can head back to the Phoenix and grab some of the food that Alpha packed. And maybe print out some maps of the local area, just to give us somewhere to start?"

"Now _that_ sounds like a plan," Brendan agreed. "I'm starving."

Ian laughed. "We'll be back soon," and they turned and left.

Tommy stood taking in the view for a few more seconds. "Another adventure," the White Ranger mused. "Where else in the world would you want to be?"

"Where else," I murmured, then caught myself and turned back to start unpacking.

_To be continued._


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's notes - thanks for sticking with me. Like _Powerless_ or _Adventure in the Black Forest_, the location here is a real hillside township in Greece. Because the last few stories were very action-oriented, I set out to write this one differently. There's a couple of rocking fight scenes later on, but this story is more a treasure quest in an exotic location, a mystery for the Rangers to solve. A change of pace is nice every now and then._

_Thanks for all the feedback :). Brankel - great to hear from you! I'm glad you're enjoying the tale. Whitebeard - alas, no, the Greek gods pop up here in statue and pottery form. The Rangers do eventually meet genuine mythological beings (I have later stories where that does happen, with gods from quite a few pantheons. The OO Rangers meet Thor and find Atlantis, after all), but not here. Xoxogirly - thanks for comment :). I should've explained this earlier - my POV stories are usually quite short. This one will only be 5 chapters. I have a continuity for my stories that starts at _The New Team _and goes right the way through to _Countdown _(with _Seito_ as a prequel, of sort_s)_. But I'd never have the time to write the whole thing, so I thought, it'd be interesting to jump ahead to various points of the team's career, and tell short tales narrated by each of the Rangers in turn, so we could see how that person sees the world and hear their perspective on being a Ranger. Yes, Kim (and other five MMPR kids) would all have the chance to leave, but in my series, they'd stay for the long-haul. So here, __Kim's made the decision to stay, a__nd this story is an epilogue, of sorts, with a little more about the whys and hows of her decision. I hope that all made sense. Enjoy chapter two! :)__  
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* * *

**Chapter Two**

I stepped into the kitchen the next morning to find Brendan and Tommy going through the supplies of food that Alpha had packed for us yesterday, while Ian hunted around in the cupboards for some plates. Tommy turned to me as I sat down at the table.

"Good morning," he said. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like a log," I said, and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. "That was about the best night's sleep I've had in months. What's for breakfast?"

Brendan found what he was looking for and held up a box of cereal triumphantly. "Fruit Loops," he said. "Boy, Alpha knows how to take care of us."

Tommy cringed in horror. "Do you know how much sugar is in those?" he asked.

"We're on holiday," Brendan shrugged.

"A _working_ holiday," Tommy murmured.

"I might just have some jam and toast," I said loudly.

"Me too," Ian said, and we shared a knowing look. "So," Ian continued, "do we have any ideas on finding the treasure chest?"

"A couple," I said, as everyone joined me at the table. "The only people who could've found it already are the original archaeologists, right?"

Ian nodded. "Brendan and I were thinking the same thing," he said. "We grabbed a guide book from the lobby when we checked in last night. It looks like there's a museum a few streets down the hill that's open Saturday mornings. According to the book, a lot of the recovered artefacts are there on display."

"That's a good plan," Tommy said.

"And if it's not there, we can talk to the museum staff," Brendan said, halfway through his bowl of cereal.

"Using some of that patented Watts charm?" I asked.

Brendan grinned. "You know it."

"What about you guys?" Ian asked.

I turned to Tommy. "I'm thinking we can swim out and check out the ruins ourselves," I said. "Alpha loaded up all that scuba equipment. We may as well use it."

"What are the odds the chest is just sitting there on the seabed waiting to be found?" Brendan asked.

"Not good," I agreed. "But the sea-floor was where the chest was last. I think that's as good a place as any to start looking."

* * *

Wishing Brendan and Ian luck at the museum, Tommy and I grabbed the backpacks containing our scuba gear, left the hotel with a 'do not disturb' sign on our door, and followed the weathered stone streets down towards the beach. Zordon always says that the equipment stored in the Command Centre for us to use on missions is lighter and sleeker than anything available on the commercial market. But by the time we reached the bottom of the hill, it sure didn't feel like it. With the beach across the street, I signalled to Tommy to stop by the pavement for a little while so we could rest our arms.

We stood there for a couple of minutes, catching our breath and watching the traffic pass by. It was a nice morning. The sun was still low in the sky, and Tommy and I could see a few other tourists like us exploring the town, as the local residents smiled to us and waved greetings.

Looking around, I glanced in the front window of a nearby shop. There was a photo of a young woman pinned to a board in the window, with newspaper clippings and magazine articles underneath. I smiled to myself. No matter where you went in the world, tributes to popular, local celebrities were universal. But as I stepped closer, I realised that I recognised the girl staring back at me.

"I thought Kakia Thalassa sounded familiar," I said, and Tommy stepped over to join me. "When I was a little girl, one of my favourite gymnasts came from this part of Greece," and I nodded to the tribute in the window. "I can remember watching her at the Olympics."

"Cool," Tommy replied. "It's a small world."

I gazed around, my enthusiasm fading. "I guess it is," I said. "Let's keep moving."

With that, we crossed the street and stepped onto the sand. Towels dotted the length of the beach, and there were already a few people enjoying the water. Further out to sea, we could see the same fleet of fishing trawlers from last night, while just beyond the breakers were some smaller boats with teenagers trying their luck the old fashioned way.

Dropping our backpacks onto the sand, we pulled free our wetsuits, tanks and flippers. "Where do we start?" Tommy asked.

"The ruined city isn't too far out," I said, as we pulled our wetsuits on over our swimmers. "Going by the maps back in the room, it's halfway between the beach and the island. But whatever happens, we stick together."

"Got it," Tommy nodded, then lowered his voice. "The water does look pretty amazing, doesn't it?"

I smiled. "You're not wrong."

Leaving our towels on the beach, we stepped into the water. The surf was gentle and the water was cool and refreshing. Once we'd paddled out past the breakers, we each took a breath, and dived under the surface.

Silence fell as we left the surface world behind us, punctuated only by the breaths we were taking from the tanks. The water was so clear I could see a long way in all directions. The sandy sea-floor was only about fifteen feet below the surface, and I watched as strands of orange and purple seaweed swayed back and forth with the current. But as we swam, the seaweed and pebbles gave way to flat slabs of stone. Tommy pointed ahead, and I looked up and nodded. The ruined city lay before us.

Along the seabed were what had once been stone streets that were now covered by sand and barnacles. Over to the left was an avenue of short stone columns. Only two remained upright, while the rest had fallen and crumbled away, the debris hidden behind thick sea grass. The area to the right had once been some kind of marketplace or garden. Shattered statues of ancient Greek heroes and gods were lying on the seabed with their arms and legs missing, while a row of low-set stone buildings lay further beyond. Directly below me was a stone archway covered in barnacles, leading through to a little courtyard. I floated still for a second and watched as an eel disappeared into the shadows of a submerged building opposite.

All around us, schools of brightly-coloured fish darted through the ruins, while larger fish swam up to investigate the two divers suddenly in their midst. Keeping Tommy in sight, I kicked down to the seabed towards a pile of broken statues, while a small octopus crept along the sand and into a shattered pot below me. Floating back up, I swept my gaze around. As far as I could see, ruins, columns and stone buildings jutted out of the gloom, hidden behind thickets of purple seaweed or partially buried under the sand. It all seemed so ancient, beautiful but eerily silent. I tried to picture how many places the chest could be, and my heart sank.

I glanced over to Tommy and he pointed to the surface. I nodded, and followed him up.

Reaching the surface, we pulled our masks off.

"It's a big city," Tommy breathed, bobbing with the waves.

"I can't believe all those buildings used to be temples and houses and shops," I said. "Can you imagine it? You feel safe in your house one day, and then half an hour later, you're underwater."

"What about the chest?" Tommy asked. "This could take forever."

"Hang on though," I began. "Let's, like, think about this logically for a second. Zordon said the wizard had his own big castle, right? Knowing these types the way we do, I think we should stick to the larger buildings. Plus, remember, there's the crest of the two dragons. If we look for that, hopefully we'll get somewhere."

"Good idea," Tommy agreed. "Let's go. I hope the boys are having better luck than we are," and with that, we pulled our masks back on, and disappeared under the surface.

* * *

Kakia Thalassa's local museum was a small one-storey building on the outskirts of town. A grassy lawn sat beside the museum in front of a carpark that was mostly deserted. As they stepped up off the street, Brendan and Ian saw there was a large windowless warehouse behind the main building, set back against the forested hillside.

"It's pretty unremarkable as museums go," Brendan said.

Ian nodded. "It's probably only for the local area," he replied. "I'd say that any major finds would end up going to Athens or Rome or somewhere."

Making their way inside, the two Rangers stopped by the front desk and paid the museum admission fee to a young woman behind the counter. The name badge pinned to her shirt read 'Anna', and she had long blonde hair tied back behind her head. She gave Brendan the change, and he replied with a wink and a smile. Anna giggled and blushed, and handed them a pair of guides to the museum as Ian looked on in amusement.

Taking the guides, the two Rangers stepped away from the counter and into the museum proper. The building looked empty, and they seemed to be the only two visitors there. Corridors connecting three different galleries stood before them, and although the signs over the doorways were all written in Greek, they had English translations underneath them. The sign to the left read, 'Artefacts from the Sunken City', and Ian tapped Brendan on the shoulder.

"This one," Ian said, and they stepped into the room.

The gallery opened out before them. It was slightly larger than their hotel room, lit by a wide skylight high above their heads. On one side of the room was a glass case with a model of the ancient city as it had looked before it was destroyed. Next to that were a series of statues and figures that had been recovered from the ocean floor. On the opposite side were floor to ceiling shelves filled with pottery, coins and other relics of ancient Greek life, all safely protected in glass cases. At a cursory glance, neither of the boys could see anything that looked like a wooden treasure chest.

"This doesn't look hopeful," Brendan said.

Ian frowned. "Let's have a look anyway," he said. "You never know."

They worked their way down the room, carefully checking every display for any signs of their target. But after an hour, they reached the end of the gallery, turned to one another and shrugged helplessly. Brendan had been right. Wherever the chest and book were, they weren't here.

"Dead end?" Brendan asked, as they made their way back to the foyer.

"The shame of it is, there's not much here at all," Ian said.

Brendan stopped. "That doesn't make any sense though," he said. "We're talking about a whole city. And, sure, it's underwater, but there has to be more than just what we saw. Go with me on this."

Anna was behind the counter filing some paperwork when the boys returned. "Did you enjoy the displays?" she asked brightly.

Brendan rested his arms on the counter. "Yeah, it was really cool," he replied. "We're both big history fans. But we were hoping to see a lot more. Is that everything that they recovered from the bay?"

"Oh no, not at all," Anna replied. "But the dive team went home for the holidays before they had the chance to catalogue everything. They should be back sometime next week to finish with the rest of the artefacts."

"Where are they storing them all in the meantime?" Ian asked.

"In the warehouse," Anna said, and pointed in the direction of the large shed behind the building.

"It'd be really awesome to see it all," Brendan said.

"I'm sorry," Anna said, shrinking back in her seat. "I really can't take you. It's only for museum staff," but she glanced around conspiratorially. "Although…"

"No, it's okay," Brendan said quickly. "We don't want to get you in any trouble. Thank you," and with a final smile, he and Ian stepped out into the sunshine.

"You're thinking the chest might be in the warehouse?" Ian asked.

"It's gotta be somewhere," Brendan replied. "And I think we just got our first lead."

_To be continued._


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's notes - At the halfway point :). Whitebeard - thanks. I'd wanted for some time to have the Rangers searching sunken ruins for treasure, and I've always loved it when Rangers get missions that take them into underwater environments, so the last chapter was really fun to write.  
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_Just a quick note ... something weird happened with my last chapter. I uploaded chapter 2 on Wednesday, but the actual update (with the new chapter) didn't seem to appear until a day or so afterwards (and in the past, it's taken only a few minutes, so I was vexed). So, if you missed chapter 2, quickly go back and reread it (otherwise, you'll be very confused by Kimberly's discussion with Tommy in the first scene, and why the Rangers are breaking into an abandoned museum__). Chapter 2's a good chapter, you'll like it, I promise :). And onto chapter 3 ..._

* * *

**Chapter Three**

The four of us reunited at the hotel just as the sun was setting. Ian and Brendan were already there when Tommy and I returned, the two boys going back over maps of the area spread out across the dining table. Stowing our scuba equipment away, Tommy and I got changed and hung our wetsuits out to dry on the balcony before joining the boys at the table.

"So how did you go?" Brendan asked, as I sat down beside him.

"No luck with the ruins," I replied. "We spent most of the day exploring them. What about you two?"

"There wasn't much at the museum either," Ian said. "But we found out that the archaeologists all went home for the holidays, so there's a lot of artefacts still in storage in a warehouse behind the building."

"Once we left the museum," Brendan continued, "we spent the afternoon looking at old newspapers. There was nothing strange in any of them. No balls of light or freak weather events, no ghosts or strange creatures running loose in the streets. There's no sign at all that the book's been used by anybody. Our best bet is still the museum."

"So we should sneak in tonight and take a look around?" Tommy asked.

"Just don't tell my dad," Ian said.

"Fair enough," I said. "Meanwhile, I'm hungry. Do you guys want to get dinner?"

Tommy pointed to the kitchenette. "I can see what Alpha packed for us?"

"No, I'm definitely in the mood for some Greek food," I said. "Besides, what does Zordon always say about experiencing local cultures?"

"Brendan and I saw a takeaway restaurant down the street on our way back this afternoon," Ian said. "We can go and get something?"

"Sounds good," I said. "Take some money."

Once they'd left, Tommy and I continued to scour the maps of the city, trying to find anything we might've missed or overlooked. But after a few minutes, I felt my gaze going blurry. Massaging my eyes, I stood up to stretch my legs and wandered around the room. Stopping by the door to the balcony, I stared out over the town.

"You okay?" Tommy asked. "You haven't suggested we go shopping once, this whole trip."

I smiled. "I'm sorry, I'm just thinking about stuff," I said.

Tommy thought back to this morning. "About your gymnastics?" he asked.

"It's been on my mind this weekend," I replied, and sat down beside him. "With all this talk about the new year, I've been thinking a lot about the old one. The path not taken, I suppose."

"Are you worried you made the wrong decision?"

"I don't think so," I said. "I guess I liked having my future laid out in front of me. It was reassuring to know where I was going. When I decided to stay, I didn't realise that it would leave the future as one giant question mark. I think that's what's throwing me." I paused, and ran my hands through my hair. "What if you don't get that many opportunities and I already turned one down? What if there's no more coming?"

"I'm sorry," Tommy said. "I wish I had the answers you're looking for, but we both know I'm not that good with this stuff."

"It's okay," I said, hearing footsteps in the corridor outside. "Besides, I think the boys are back with dinner, and you know what Zac always says. Nobody ever got any deep thinking done on an empty stomach."

"Fair enough," Tommy said, and we got up to welcome Brendan and Ian back in.

* * *

I managed to get a few hours sleep after dinner while the boys preferred to sit up watching late night Greek television. But after midnight, when the night was dark and cold, the four of us dressed in black and grey, crept out onto the balcony and climbed down onto the street. There were no lights on in any of the buildings around us, nobody on the street, and no cars on the road, not even any bright little taxis. Keeping to the shadows and making as little noise as possible, we quickly made our way across the town towards the museum.

While the Rangers have always been great at showing up with guns blazing as our skyscraper-sized giant robots knock buildings down, when it comes to stealth missions, we've all had to work pretty hard to get better. Earlier in the year, we had a couple of ninja masters teach the team a few things, and they would've been proud of us tonight as we skulked across the city, darting through alleys and gliding silently through shadows like ghosts. Turning a corner, we came to a stop. The deserted museum lay across the street. It was dark and empty, with no cars in sight.

"Let's go," whispered Brendan, and dashed onto the street.

I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "Hold on a sec," I said, and pointed to lights positioned along the roof of the museum. "Twenty bucks says those are sensor lights."

"Good call," Brendan said.

Tommy pulled a small device out of his pocket and aimed it for the lights. "Here we go," he murmured, and pressed the button. The air sizzled, and then nothing.

"How long will that knock the sensors out for?" Ian asked.

"About thirty seconds," Tommy replied. "Run!"

We sprinted across the street in a mad dash, racing across the lawn and around to the large warehouse behind the museum, our hearts pounding in our chests. As we reached the door, we saw a little alarm panel beside the lock. It wouldn't have been anything serious, since I doubted there was much crime at all in such a small town, but it was enough to slow us down.

"Hang on," Tommy said, and aimed the device at the panel. The alarm crackled, and the little screen went blank. With that, Ian reached into his pocket and pulled free a silver key. Billy and Alpha had once explained to us that the key was made of nano-somethings that adjusted themselves to fit any lock. I didn't quite understand what they'd said, but we'd all seen it work in the past. All it needed was time.

Ian pushed the key into the lock. "Five," he counted. "Four, three, two, one…" and he turned the key.

The door swung open.

The four of us dashed inside. Last into the building, I turned to the door and locked it shut behind us. As the guys caught their breaths, I reached for the torch in my pocket.

"Okay, torches only and gloves on," I said. "Try not to make any more of a mess than you need to. We don't want anyone knowing we were here."

"You got it," Brendan nodded. We turned to the interior of the warehouse and swept our torches over the shelves before us. There were four aisles facing us, the shelves of artefacts disappearing back into the shadows. We had our work cut out for us. Ian and Brendan stepped over to the two outside aisles, and once Tommy and I had picked the two in the middle, we began moving down through the warehouse, slowly inspecting everything we could find. The crates were mostly unlocked, although I heard Ian jimmying one open to look inside. There was lots of pottery, statues and coins, but nothing on any of the shelves I looked at was a treasure chest. From the silence on all sides, I doubted the guys were having any better luck. Finally, I reached the end of my aisle to see the three guys waiting empty-handed.

_Damn it._

"Still nothing?" I asked softly, as we made our way back to the door.

"We've definitely been on easier treasure hunts," Ian murmured. "I guess it's back to square one?"

The sensor lights outside suddenly flashed on, shining in through a window that we hadn't noticed. Everyone froze, gazing around worriedly, when the door slammed open. This wasn't the museum staff. The four of us were immediately back-to-back, arms raised for battle, as Goldar stepped into the building with a dozen putties behind him. Seeing the four of us, Goldar's eyes flew wide. He was clearly as surprised to see us as we were. But he soon recovered, and raised his sword.

"Goldar, what do you want?" Tommy asked.

"What do you think?" Goldar replied, and turned to the putties. "Get them!"

The army of grey warriors surged towards us. Tommy leaped forward with a high spinning kick that sent several opponents crashing back into the shelves, before dropping to the ground and sending another stumbling with an elbow to the chest. Beside him, I ducked under a wide swing, grabbing the putty's arm and launching him into another while he was off-balance. A few feet away in the aisles of artefacts, Brendan blocked a punch then struck his opponent into a shelf with a rapid blow to the shoulder, pausing to catch a pot as it rolled off the shelf before gently resting it on the ground. Over by the door, Ian was trading blows with several opponents at once, jumping over a low kick, striking away an adversary before catching a punch and spinning the attacker off his feet.

As the putties fell, Goldar growled and stepped towards us, but the building was lit up by flashing lights as the sound of sirens filled the air. Someone must've seen Goldar and the putties, and then called the police. The putties immediately regrouped around the golden warrior. Leaving us to deal with the police, Goldar stabbed his sword into the ground, and the troop vanished in a flash of flame. Suddenly without opponents, the four of us gazed around.

"We gotta get out of here," I said. We raced for the door and charged out into the night. I could see a couple of police cars turning onto the street, but for the moment, they hadn't spotted us.

"Up the hill?" Ian asked.

Tommy shook his head. "That's where they'd expect us to go," he said.

I pointed to the building next door. "Around the back, and then head for the hotel," I said. "Go!"

We raced away, disappearing into the shadows as the town's police converged on the museum behind us. Staying out of sight, we jumped fences and darted through alleyways until we'd made it safely back up the hill. Reaching our street, I held up my hand and brought the guys to a stop. I couldn't hear any sounds of pursuit, which meant the police hadn't seen us. Still, my heart-rate didn't return to normal until we'd climbed back up the side of the hotel and reached the balcony of our room. I leaned against the wall to catch my breath, while the guys collapsed onto the tiles beside me.

"Whew," panted Brendan. "That was fun."

"I'm sure the last thing Zordon would've wanted was for us to cause an international incident," Tommy said. "That was too close."

"But we got away and nobody saw us," I said. "That's the important thing."

"What about Goldar and the putties?" Ian asked. "They're here for the spell book too. They have to be."

"If they're breaking into the museum late at night just like we were," I began, "it means they've got no idea where the chest is either. For the moment, at least, I'm not worried."

"Yeah," Tommy agreed. "Zordon said they'd be here eventually, so we should've expected them. It just means tomorrow, we're gonna have to work a lot faster. We still don't know where this thing is, and we're running out of time."

_To be continued._


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's notes - this is a longer chapter, because a lot happens here :). There's more underwater shenanigans (I love that word), and we end with an all out battle royale :). Enjoy!  
_

* * *

**Chapter** **Four**

Whether it was the trip to the museum last night or our body clocks finally catching up to the time zone, we all slept in the next morning and didn't stir until late. Once everybody was at least halfway awake, we headed out to the same café where Ian and Brendan had picked up our dinner last night. There was a stone courtyard around the side of the building filled with potted plants and fresh flowers, and once we'd carried our trays of food outside, we chose a table down the back where we weren't likely to be overheard.

As the four of us sat down, Ian glanced around the group. "So where to now?" he asked, buttering his toast. "We know the book's still here in the city. But you didn't find it yesterday in the ruins, and the museum was a dead end. What do we do now?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "I've got no clue."

"At least Goldar doesn't have any ideas either," Tommy shrugged.

I turned to see Brendan flicking through a small book. "What's that?" I asked.

"I saw this in a shop across the street from the hotel," Brendan explained. "It's a little guide book, just something for tourists. I figured it was worth a look. It has lots of stories about the history of Kakia Thalassa, including about the earthquake. It's chapter four, check it out," and he handed me the book.

I found the fourth chapter and skimmed through it until a particular paragraph caught my eye. "Hey, listen to this," I said, and began reading out loud. "There were many reports of animals acting strangely in the week leading up to the earthquake. The day before, a local farmer said that a dozen of his horses broke out of their stables and fled into the woods."

"Well that makes sense," Tommy said. "Animals have a sixth sense about these things, don't they?"

I looked up, and turned to Tommy. Of course. It was so obvious. "Yeah, they do," I smiled. "Tommy, you did it. Guys, we've been looking at this the wrong way ever since we got here."

Realisation dawned on Ian's face, and he grinned. "That's brilliant!" he said.

"Wait, you've lost me," Brendan said.

"The computers in the Command Centre might be crazy sensitive," I began, "but there's two things they don't have. Local knowledge, and natural instincts." I gestured down towards the bay. "Zordon and Alpha picked up on the magic the wizard's spell book is throwing out, but I'm betting they're not the only ones. If something strange _was_ happening under the bay, who better to ask than the people who spend their lives there? Whose livelihoods depend on it?"

"The fishermen, you mean?" Brendan asked.

"Exactly," I said.

"But we saw the trawlers yesterday, and they were all out to sea," Tommy said.

"Not all of them," I replied. "What about those kids yesterday morning?" and with that, we all stood up. "Here's the plan," I continued. "Brendan and Ian, take whatever money we have left and go hire a boat for the day. I know it's Sunday morning, but there's more than a few tourists around. There should be something we can use."

"What about us?" Tommy asked.

"We are gonna get some fishing advice," I said. "C'mon," and we raced away.

* * *

Making our way down to the beach, Tommy and I turned right to follow the coastal road as it led around a rocky headland and past the local marina, with small boats tied to rickety wooden jetties alongside larger yachts. Reaching the docks, Tommy pointed to the large fishing boats, where crews of fishermen were just preparing to head out, but I shook my head and nodded to a couple of kids on the jetty closest to us. I could see the resemblance in their faces from here, and immediately guessed they were brothers. The older boy was about our age with blond curls, while the younger of the two had short dark hair and looked the same age as Ian and Brendan. A small wooden boat was bobbing in the waves beside them.

"C'mon Nicholaos," the older brother called, as his younger sibling stumbled after him with a pair of fishing poles under his arms.

"I'm right behind you Chrisos," Nicholaos replied.

"You sure?" Tommy murmured.

"Trust me," I replied, and stepped towards them. "Hey guys," I called. Both boys turned to me. Nicholaos stumbled with surprise and dropped the fishing rods, while Chrisos waved a greeting and climbed out of the boat. "I was wondering if I could ask you a favour?" I continued.

"Anything," Nicholaos replied with wide-eyes. Chrisos patted his younger brother on the head and laughed.

"Are you tourists?" Chrisos asked. "Your accent sounds Australian."

I nodded. "My friends and I are on holiday," I said. "We were looking to catch some dinner, and we've heard the fishing in the bay is pretty good. Are there any spots in particular we should try?"

"Really anywhere in the bay, and you'll be fine," Chrisos said.

Nicholaos leaned in close and lowered his voice, imparting a deep secret. "Just between us," he whispered, "the best spot is just north of the ruined city. We always do really well there."

"Thanks," I replied. I turned to Tommy, but then looked back to the two brothers. "Just in case they're not biting, is there anywhere we should avoid?"

"Not really," Nicholaos said. "But there is a spot on the other side of the island. It's about five hundred metres south of the southern point there," and he pointed across the bay. "For about a month now, there's been no fish at all. It's never been safe to swim there because of the old wreck, but lately, there's never any fish. It's like they're avoiding it."

Chrisos nodded. "Even the gulls," he said. "If you watch them when they follow the trawlers, they always fly around the spot and never over. It's weird."

"Thanks heaps," I replied. With a final smile, I stepped back to Tommy.

"I hope we helped," Nicholaos called, blushing slightly.

I looked back to the two brothers. "Trust me," I said, "you helped more than you know," and Tommy and I raced away.

Far above the two of us, Goldar and his troop of stony-faced warriors stood perched on the roof of a nearby building, peering down over the street. Watching as Tommy and I left the two brothers and dashed back into town, Goldar's lips curled back to reveal his fangs.

"The Rangers are up to something," Goldar growled, his gaze following Tommy and I. "Let's keep an eye on them. Of course they'll find the chest first. It's what they do. But once they have it," and his red eyes flashed, "we will strike and take it from them! For Zedd and Rita!"

The putties danced around him victoriously before teleporting away in a flash of flame.

* * *

By the time Tommy and I made it back to the hotel, Ian and Brendan had already called us on our communicators to tell us they'd managed to hire a boat. Grabbing our scuba gear, Tommy and I raced back down to the coast. The boat was small and wooden, with a clunky old engine that sounded like it had seen better days, but it was all we needed. Before long, the four of us were sitting in the boat as we headed out towards the island, leaving Kakia Thalassa behind us. With sea spray bursting all around us, the smell of the ocean filled the air. The wind was stronger than it had been yesterday, and I felt the breeze whistling past me as we cruised further out into the bay.

Reaching the island, we left the boat on the beach facing the mainland, before climbing over the rocks and making our way through the forest. The island was deserted, apart from the four of us and the birds flapping through the trees. The forest was quite thick, but in a few minutes, we stepped out onto the opposite shoreline. In front of us lay the beautiful clear blue of the Aegean Sea.

I pointed to the south. "According to Chrisos and Nic," I began, "the spot we're looking for is about half a kilometre that way."

"That's not too far," Brendan said.

"Tommy and I will take the boat," I continued, and turned to the Aqua and Grey Rangers beside me. "You two stay here."

"Aww," Ian frowned. "You're side-lining us?"

"No," I said, and indicated Tommy and myself. "I'm protecting _us_. We've been in this situation too often. While we're down there looking for the chest, we'll be vulnerable. I need you two to stay up here and keep an eye on us."

"Yeah," Tommy agreed, and rested a hand on Ian's shoulder. "Putties aren't that great underwater, and neither is Goldar. If they're gonna make a play for the chest, they'll do it here."

"Point taken," said Brendan, and nodded to a clearing back in the forest. "We'll hunker down back there. Good luck."

"Thanks," I said, and gave the boys a light hug. Leaving them in the forest, Tommy and I made our way back through the trees towards the boat. Pushing away from the beach, Tommy steered us around the island. Before long, we were heading out to sea.

"Hey," I called over the noise of the motor, pointing up to the sky, "check it out!"

Tommy looked up to see what I'd spotted. Not too far above us, a flock of seabirds were flying towards the mainland. As they flew, the entire flock banked sharply left around a wide area overhead. Tommy nodded, and brought the boat to a stop.

"This is the spot," he said, and dropped the anchor overboard.

"It'll be straight beneath us," I said. "We shouldn't have to worry about sharks at least. If it's down there, the chest should be easy to see. It's probably close to the surface of the sea-floor, if it's not already exposed."

Tommy peered down over the side of the boat. "It's gotta be there," he nodded, and we reached for our scuba tanks. "Let's do this."

Once the tanks were strapped to our backs, we fell backwards over the side of the boat and disappeared under the azure water. It was about ten feet deeper than the water in the bay, but it was still amazingly clear, and we could see straight down to the bottom. As I gazed around, I spotted the shipwreck that Nicholaos had mentioned. It was hard to miss. Most of the ship's superstructure had long since rotted away, but the ship's iron ribs still jutted up from the sea-floor, rusted and covered in barnacles and sea weed.

Passing over the shipwreck, Tommy and I dived lower. Sand and pebbles covered the seabed, but after a while, we started to see stones that were far too sharply cut to be natural. I turned to Tommy and he nodded. I pointed off to the right, and he flashed me an 'okay' sign and indicated the left. I knew that we shouldn't split up, but I trusted Ian and Brendan back on the island to keep an eye on us. And with time against us, we'd cover much more ground if we searched separately.

As I swam further, I began to see dark shapes looming out of the gloom. I soon saw a stone avenue resting on the bottom, almost hidden behind a forest of colourful sea grass. Following it down a slope, I found the ruined remains of a grand staircase jutting out of the sand. It was eerie down here. Nic and Chris hadn't lied. Apart from the sea grass, there was no life at all, nothing but sand and rubble. Continuing along the sunken path and alert for any signs of danger, I looked ahead to see the remains of several large buildings. But in front of them was a raised stone platform ringed by a circle of arches, partially hidden by long lengths of seaweed drifting in the current. Swimming down closer, I brushed away the seaweed that was obscuring one of the arches, and recoiled in shock.

Staring back at me was a stone carving of two duelling dragons.

I glanced around. This was the place! If I used my imagination, I could see the stairs and walls while they were still above the surface. But I'd been in enough castles to realise that the stone platform was important. Looking around, I ran my gaze over the sea-floor. Down to the left of one of the columns was a slight rise in an otherwise flat stretch of sand.

I swam deeper. Gliding across the sea bed, I reached the bump and began digging into the sea-floor, doing nothing more than raising an expanding cloud of silt. I swore under my breath. But the tide soon carried the cloud away, and before me was the curved lid of an ancient wooden treasure chest.

_Bingo_.

* * *

Back on the island, Brendan paced along the grass while Ian kept his hands over his eyes as he watched the boat rocking with the swell.

"They've been down there a while," Brendan murmured.

Ian leaned forward. "I think I see Tommy," he said, and glanced back to his best friend. "They're coming up…"

Without warning there was a flash of flame as Goldar and his army of putties materialised in the clearing around them. Ian and Brendan immediately retreated towards each other as they were surrounded by a circle of leering grey opponents.

"Surprise!" Goldar said. "We knew you'd lead us straight to the chest!"

"You ready?" Ian asked.

"Like you need to ask," Brendan smiled.

Ian nodded, and they reached for their back pockets. "It's morphin' time!" Ian shouted. "Iguanodon!"

"Dilophosaurus!"

The clearing exploded in a storm of light. When the putties turned back to their enemies, they saw the Grey and Aqua Rangers ready for battle.

"Get them!" Goldar shouted.

"Let's go!" Ian said.

The Rangers charged into the crowd of grey warriors as the forest came alive around them with the sounds of frenzied combat. Rolling under a wild punch, Brendan spun around with a high kick, slamming one of his opponents back. Ducking a blow from the left, he grabbed the putty's shoulder and threw the warrior away, before dropping a second attacker with a low foot sweep. But even as his opponents fell, more of them closed in around him. A few feet away, Ian blocked a low punch, stepped around a second blow and drove an opponent to the ground with a kick to the stomach. Without slowing down, he struck away a high punch and sent his attacker crashing with a powerful palm strike, but he was too slow to avoid a glancing blow to the shoulder that sent him crashing.

Brendan was immediately by Ian's side, and he helped the Grey Ranger to his feet. But glancing to the wall of putties facing them, the two Rangers backed away.

"You're wasting your time Goldar," Ian said. "You'll never get the book from us. We don't even have it."

Goldar's lips pulled back to reveal a cruel smile. "No," he began. "But I will get two hostages to trade for it." With the line of putties only a metre away from the boys, Goldar raised his sword. "Putties, get…!"

A barrage of glowing arrows blasted through the air, slamming into the wall of putties and launching them backwards in a shower of sparks. Ian and Brendan spun in the direction of the arrows to see me with my Power Bow held high, standing at the front of the boat as it raced towards the island. As they watched, Tommy cut the engine and grabbed the wooden chest. The boat shot straight up onto the beach, and Tommy and I leaped onto the ground and charged into the forest. Reaching the boys, Tommy dropped the chest to the ground, while I kept my bow trained on Goldar.

"Back off," I said, and Goldar warily kept his distance. I glanced to Ian and Brendan beside me. "We can't leave the two of you alone for five minutes, can we?"

"It wasn't our fault this time," Brendan protested, then paused. "I don't think."

"So you found the chest?" Ian asked.

Tommy tapped it with his boot. "It was right where Kim said it'd be," he said.

"Destroy them!" Goldar bellowed. "Destroy them and take the chest! For the glory of Zedd and Rita!"

As one, the dancing grey warriors attacked. Ian dived over a low kick and rolled to his feet, taking one of the putties out with a jump kick. Dropping to the ground, he blocked a lunge from the left and struck his opponent back with a blow to the chest, before dropping low and taking a third attacker's legs out from under him. A few metres away, Tommy was defending the chest from a crowd of putties desperately trying to grab it. Kicking one away, he ducked under a wide punch and slammed the putty back with a powerful kick, before grabbing another as it dived for the chest and spinning it off its feet into a nearby tree. The White Ranger spun around as another adversary leaped towards him, but Brendan dropped down between them and sent the putty flying with a powerful punch before slamming a second putty away with a palm strike.

Tommy blinked. "Good work," he said.

"You protect the chest," the Aqua Ranger said quickly. "I'll protect _you_."

Across the clearing, Goldar raised his blade and charged towards Tommy and Brendan when I somersaulted down before him.

"Not so fast," I said.

Goldar roared and slashed his sword. I leaped out of the way, ducking under a second slice and stepping around a third. Turning after me, Goldar swung again, but I blocked his blade with my Power Bow, struck it away and spun around, forcing Goldar back with a kick to the chest. While he was off-balance, I aimed my bow and fired, but Goldar regained his footing and struck the arrows out of the air with his sword, sending them whistling into the trees on either side. Thundering towards me, he raked his claws for my helmet. I blocked the blow and kicked high, but he ducked under my boot. As I landed, Goldar's eyes flashed, and the forest lit up as he blasted a barrage of fireballs straight towards me. I somersaulted away out of danger as the forest floor exploded with sparks behind me.

Reaching Tommy, I grabbed the wooden chest as the boys regrouped around me. But as I picked it up, I felt the weight shift in my hands. Listening carefully over the sounds of battle, I heard a 'slosh' from inside the chest, and smiled beneath my helmet.

"Tommy?" I called, holding up the locked side of the chest. He understood instantly. Reaching for Saba, he struck at the lock and broke it off. Playing a hunch, I flipped the lid open, gazed down into the chest and laughed. I'd guessed right.

"This dark wizard," I began, as the remaining putties fell back, "he built his fortress to last forever, didn't he? I bet the earthquake was a _real_ shock."

"What are you babbling about Pink Ranger?" Goldar growled.

I put the chest on the ground. "You guys are all the same. For all his arrogance, there's one thing your wizard never thought to do, did he?" I said, and reached into the chest. "He never water-proofed his spell book."

With that, I threw the remains of the spell book onto the dirt at Goldar's feet. After hundreds of years underwater, the book was nothing but sludge, a pile of illegible muck that was more liquid than solid.

"Look at that," Ian murmured. "You know, the book's magic probably protected it for a little while, but two thousand years is a long time."

"Still Goldar," Tommy said. "If you want the book so badly, you can have it."

Goldar glanced from us to the book and then back again. With an angry growl, he stabbed his sword into the dirt, and our enemies all vanished in a flash of flame. The four of us were suddenly alone on the island but for the crashing surf and the birds, and the three guys all turned to the chest.

"I guess we should take it back to the Command Centre anyway," Tommy said, "to let Zordon destroy it properly. Just in case."

"Good idea," Brendan nodded.

I looked around the group and let out a sigh of relief. "Still, good work guys," I said. "We totally did it."

_To be concluded._


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's notes - thanks for sticking with me! Whitebeard - sorry to disappoint you on the old myth count. I really set the story in Greece just because it's such a beautiful location (that I'd love to visit, some day) and I like my characters spending time in different places on Earth. Like Tommy says to Kim, here, they _do _tend to eat well on these missio__ns. Plus, I've found in the past that introducing too many big cool things in these POV tales sometimes takes away from focusing in on the main character. I hope you enjoyed the story as a character-piece, anyway :). To everyone else, I hope you enjoyed the tale, and I thrive on feedback, so feel free to let me know what you felt. Until next time :). _

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Later that afternoon, I sat down on the beach and dug my toes into the sand. It had turned into a beautiful day, and the beach was full of people enjoying the weather. Down in the water, Brendan and Ian were splashing around in the surf. Spotting me from across the street, Tommy weaved his way through the crowd of beachgoers and sat down next to me.

"You got it back okay?" I asked.

"I loaded the chest safely into the Phoenix zord," Tommy replied. "All we have to do now is pack up all our gear and pay the bill, and then we can head home."

I met his gaze. "Not so fast," I said with a smile. "We can still spend the afternoon here and make it home in time for New Year's Eve."

"So you do want to go shopping after all?"

"With my own money," I laughed. "No, I wanted to check out that tourist shop near the hotel and see if I can get Trini a doll in traditional Greek costume. I don't think she's got one of those. Plus I want to see if we can get a Greek cookbook."

"We eat well on these missions, don't we?"

"Maybe we can get Ernie to do like a Greek night at the Youth Centre or something."

We sat there on the sand for a while longer, listening to the seagulls high above us, and the holiday-makers laughing and playing along the beach.

Tommy turned to me. "What about you?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said. The honesty of my answer surprised me. "I really think I am."

"You're not still having second thoughts?"

"Over the possible future I lost?" I asked. "You know, the more I think about it, I don't think I ever really lost anything. I mean, the future's always a giant question mark, isn't it? Look at the wizard. He had all these grand plans set in stone, and then one day an earthquake said, nope! For the moment, I think, my future is enjoying the holidays and then figuring out what to major in at college. Maybe other opportunities will show up at some point, and maybe they won't. I can't control that. But right now? Yeah, I'm glad I decided to stay."

"And you're really sure?" Tommy asked.

"Back in the Command Centre, you remember the day when I had to decide?" I asked, and Tommy nodded. "Zordon told me that it was a big choice, and that I needed to carefully think about everything I'd be giving up." I swept my arms around the beach, down to where Ian and Brendan were splashing around in the water. "Well, I did."

Tommy nudged my shoulder with his own. "I'm happy to hear it," he said.

I jumped to my feet. "So while we're here," I said, "I think the boys have the right idea," and I jogged down towards the water.

Tommy laughed and ran after me.

* * *

Underneath the stars, the Phoenix zord lifted off and shot up into the sky, leaving Kakia Thalassa lit up against the shadows behind it. In the cabin behind me, Tommy was catching up on some reading, while Ian and Brendan were staring down at the cruise ships on the Aegean Sea far below. In the zord's cockpit, I made sure we were flying low enough to avoid any commercial air traffic, and reached for the radio.

"Pink Ranger to Command Centre," I began. "We're just leaving Greece now. We should be home in about an hour."

"Excellent," Zordon's voice crackled through the radio. "Alpha and I will keep an eye out for you. And all the precious cargo onboard is safe and secure?"

"We've got the chest and what's left of the book with us," I said. "Oh, and some presents we got this afternoon for the other Rangers. Tell Alpha I found him the cutest little scarf."

"Not quite the precious cargo I meant," Zordon replied. My brow fell, but before I could ask Zordon what he was talking about, he continued. "Still Kimberly, I'm very glad you found what you were looking for."

I chewed my bottom lip thoughtfully for a few seconds. "Wait, Zordon, you're not talking about the spell book anymore, are you?"

When Zordon replied, I could hear him smiling through the radio. "Good night Kimberly," Zordon said. "We'll see you soon," and the line fell silent.

I sat back in my seat and shook my head. That was the thing about Zordon. You never could tell what he was up to.

But it had been a good weekend. I meant what I'd said to Tommy back on the beach earlier this afternoon. Opportunities will come and go, but I'd made the right decision for me. As a Ranger, I get to see some of the most amazing things in the world. And more than that, I get to do all this with some of my best friends. Now _that_'s an opportunity that doesn't come along often, and as long as the world needs saving, it's not one I'll be letting go of any time soon.

My name is Kimberly Hart.

I'm the Pink Power Ranger.

Yeah, my life is still totally awesome.

And I am exactly where I want to be.

_The End._


End file.
